Space Force on Netflix - Critics are bashing it, so it may actually be good

[mindlessobserver]

Reading between the lines of all these reviews, I get the impression the critics are salty that Space Force doesn't lampoon the President enough and is actual hopeful about the future of the new military branch. They also hate the episodic format, but then I hate the season long stories that have been shat out by hollywood lately. This reviewer is also salty they didn't give the commanders Wife and the POC enough screen time. I may actually check it out now.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/space-force-review-netflix

Space Force' review: This unfunny workplace comedy isn't worth your time

Greg Daniels is having a moment. After seven years out of the spotlight, the TV writer and producer best known for his work on The Office is back with two exciting new workplace comedies. Upload premiered May 1 on Amazon to mostly positive reviews thanks to its seamless blend of comedy, romance, and sci-fi intrigue. And then, there's Space Force.

Despite its name, Space Force takes a more grounded approach than Upload, focusing on the men and women tasked with creating this new branch of the military invented by our own real-life president. Combine that simple premise with an all-star cast (Steve Carell in his first sitcom role since The Office, along with John Malkovitch, Lisa Kudrow, and Ben Schwartz to name just a few) and you should have a winning formula and a new hit for Netflix.

Instead, Space Force fails to launch, delivering a few memorable laughs and not much else. One-dimensional characters, boring episodic plotlines, and the bizarre choice to veer away from comedy in the finale make Space Force's 10-episode first season more of a slog than a rocketship ride.

Space Force begins as Mark Naird (Carell) is promoted to four-star general and immediately tasked with launching Space Force. After a moment of shock, we jump to the near future where Naird, his family, and an entire new branch of the military have relocated to middle-of-nowhere Colorado. With this expensive new operation under pressure from the federal government — including an obvious stand-in for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a Trump parody we only see in text messages and tweets — Space Force rushes to get "boots on the Moon" while facing competition from China.

There should be plenty of comedy to mine in that premise, along with a bit of drama and intrigue to keep your Netflix binge at full momentum, but Space Force doesn't know what to do with any of its characters or stories. The show can't decide if it's near-future sci-fi or political satire, let alone whether it's a comedy or a drama, and it manages to squander nearly every character in what should be a legendary cast.

Carell exemplifies everything wrong (and right) with Space Force. The show's best comedy comes from The Office alumni as he channels his inner Michael Scott (Naird is much smarter than Michael, but equally out of his depths running a space operation).

In one of the show's funniest scenes, Carell attempts to coach an astronaut monkey through repairs in space from his command center back on Earth. In another (spoiled in the trailer), he locks himself in his office and sings The Beach Boys to overcome a panic attack.

Carell is also an accomplished dramatic actor, and he's more than up for the task here. Unfortunately, while Space Force wants you to take it seriously, it never earns that right. The family drama at the heart of Space Force feels formulaic, and while the international intrigue might be fun, it's never juicy enough to keep you interested. (Also, Carell's gruff military voice will likely go down as one of the weirdest acting choices since Tom Hardy's faux-Brooklyn accent in Venom.)

The rest of the cast is treated even worse than Carell. Lisa Kudrow plays Naird's wife who barely gets enough screen time or enough jokes. Ben Schwartz plays an annoying social media manager referred to by his coworkers as "Fuck Tony" who's equally annoying to watch, while John Malkovitch has a standout role as Space Force's lead scientist and Carell's odd couple colleague.

Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley) shows off his range with one of the more believable romantic subplots of the series. Chris Gethard and Fred Willard also have small but memorable comedic roles that fade into the background as Space Force incomprehensibly veers away from comedy in its final act.

And that's the part I really don't understand. I get why this show exists. I get why it sometimes works (mostly thanks to Carell and the occasional bit of good writing), and why it mostly doesn't (a lack of direction and a murky premise). But I'll never understand why Greg Daniels decided his Netflix comedy needed to become a drama two-thirds of the way through.

If you make it that far, prepare to be baffled by a very weird and very unfunny finale. But the smartest thing you can do is stop watching after the first few episodes of Space Force. Better yet, do yourself a favor and just watch Upload instead.

Space Force touches down on Netflix on May 29.

Shockingly Bad says the Daily Beast

Steve Carell’s New Netflix Series ‘Space Force’ Is Shockingly Bad

It’s unclear what went wrong with “Space Force,” which reunites Carell with the creator of “The Office.” Suffice it to say, it’s a confusing misfire, wasting serious potential.

www.thedailybeast.com

With this gem

There are a handful of moments that directly interact with the current political climate. That one of those is the very first scene of the show sets the expectation that Space Force will offer at least some kind of political commentary. That those moments are so sporadic, yet still so concentrated and blunt when they come along, contribute to the series’ fatal flaw. There is an absence of a point of view; it’s never made clear what the show set out to do, say, or even be.

Can't get past its one joke premise, says Comic Book Resources

REVIEW: Space Force Can't Get Past Its One-Joke Premise

Space Force is sporadically funny when it leans into its goofier elements, although the absurdities and serious moments often undermine each other.

www.cbr.com

There isn’t much about the 10-episode first season of Space Force that feels like it got beyond the one-joke premise, however. Carell and his The Office collaborator Greg Daniels have drawn on their Office background to create a workplace comedy with a surprising amount of earnest emotion, and the show’s mockery of the Space Force is disappointingly tame.

Its a bust say's TIME

https://time.com/5841150/space-force-netflix-review/

Maybe the years when it was possible to make crowd-pleasing apolitical comedy about American politics are over.

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[epigenes]

would you describe the political jokes as space forced

 

[Michael Jacks0n]

Ah, so libtards being salty that this show isn't the big fuck you to orange man as they expected, and they're pushing the cringy mantra of "If you're not resisting Drumpf, you're a Nazi by proxy!"

Jesus Christ, just give us a legit comedy that doesn't have an agenda. Look, you can throw a piece of paper in any direction and hit some form of media from the past 4 years that circlejerks over Trump, and it's not like you needed more at this point. What, are the countless Comedy Central shows, late night Boomer talk shows, and Twitter "comedians" not enough? Get the fuck out. Look, this isn't 1985, and the Religious Right aren't in charge anymore.

The Left has a monopoly over the entertainment and media, which means it's de-facto counterculture and rebellious to be a right wing entertainer. The Left has absolutely no self-awareness, considering how they think they're some kind of small minority of underground resistance because they bash Trump relentlessly. "But muh Faux Noize! Buy muh Tim Allen!"

This kinda reminds of of that shithead fat Tumblr artist who argues that all media is political, even Super Mario Bros. is political in nature.

 

[A Useless Fish]

I don't give a shit if a show's format is episodic, or makes use of a longer-term view of storytelling in its seasons. I only want two things: good storytelling, and to not be preached at, especially by a class of rich hypocrites.

I'm amused that it's not catering enough to the woke crowd to save itself, but the fact it even tries means I'm not gonna watch it, either. It sounds like these people slipped off of the tightrope and crushed their balls in the process.

 

[EveyDwyer]

Saw this promoted on iMDB and rolled my eyes. I'm surprised we got this before Covfefe: The Series. Also if they had shows with a one joke premise why do they like A Little Late With Lilly Singh?

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

From the inverse article:

There should be plenty of comedy to mine in that premise

I really doubt that. Unless you go with actual sci fi humour like Futurama (which went to shit once it got political), the only jokes that remain are Orange man bad and lol space force. Both, unlike what journos think, get old fast.

Also Alexandria Cortez wasn't topical for over a year now, being replaced by autistic goblin climate child as the astroturf prime.

 

[Jimjamflimflam]

Its Far Cry 5 all over again. It was expected to be a Red Hat cult killing simulator and turned out to be fairly politically neutral (there was a optional not important to the plot side mission referencing the pee tapes ) with gameplay similar to the series.

Got panned fairly hard by critics for the hype train of "Fuck you Drumpf!" they built it into.

 

[Miller]

I wish someone had made a Space Force show like a militarized Trek. I know it's impossible because it would portray one of Trump's projects in an interesting way so you can't have that today.

 

[Secret Asshole]

People are so fucking salty about this. The 'Space Force' only exists to protect our satellites and is like a hundred or so million for the shuffle of stuff THAT ALREADY EXISTS. Compared to National Defense costs, this is nothing.

 

[Idiotron]

Somehow, after going through the linked articles, I don't see the narrative that the OP is presenting.
I would suggest less "reading between the lines" and more reading what's actually written.

 

[frozenrunner]

I would suggest less "reading between the lines" and more reading what's actually written.

Postmodernism has blessed us all with the holy knowledge that the one thing that will never tell you what a written work means is reading the contents of the work itself.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

Lisa Kudrow deserves better

 

[CWCissey]

Watched the first episode, it isn't funny really, but I do like the premise and the story being told so I'll probably continue.

 

[melty]

Huh, I just assumed the show was going to be about how bad orange man is. If it's actually not, then I'll check it out.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

Good show. Reminded me of Ghostbusters where the subject is taken seriously enough but the actors make it fun, plus it gave me feels of being back in the military and being the Greg to my skipper's Steve Carroll.

Hoping for season 2 because man that is a cliff hanger the first season ends on.

I don't know what the salt is to be honest because I went into it blind beyond thinking this would be a beat you over the head type show but it's just chill.

 

[Peep Plops]

I liked this show and the cast did a great job endearing me to them. I also found it funny enough with an emotional core that felt genuine and not ironically detached or forced like a lot of other modern shows. Reading those reviews I think it's pretty obvious that these pissy pedants didn't like it simply because it wasn't the daily show in space.

 

[Stab You in the Back]

I don't know if there's a term for shows like this where its shot like a comedy but there are no jokes and the timing is so off that it kills every mildly amusing interaction.

Barry, Veep* and Avenue 9 have the same problems. Premium cable prestige comedy? "We're too fucking good to tell a joke but laugh anyway you fucking NPR-listening faggot" syndrome? I dunno.

*latter seasons of Veep. Early seasons had good timing. Latter seasons just felt oppressive.

 

[Invisible Crane]

NPR-listening faggot" syndrome? I dunno.

Stop fucking using that f word please, what will it take to stop you from using it

 

[Stab You in the Back]

Stop fucking using that f word please, what will it take to stop you from using it

A world without faggots.

 

[Bread Fetishist]

Stop fucking using that f word please, what will it take to stop you from using it

Your very demise.